In eukaryotes, nucleosomes, the repeating unit of chromatin, regulate gene expression by repressing transcription. In some instances, nucleosomes may inhibit transcription by occluding the TATA box and inhibiting the interaction between the TATA element and the TATA-binding protein (TBP), which is a component of the general transcription factor TFIID. Transcriptional activator proteins are thought to overcome nucleosome-mediated transcriptional repression by perturbing chromatin and promoting the assembly of the basal transcription machinery through the recruitment of TBP to the TATA element. The objective of this project is to determine if the activator protein GAL4 of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, recruits TBP to the TATA box in vivo, and to examine how chromatin structure influences the binding of TBP to the TATA element.